Advances in semiconductor manufacturing have made it possible to incorporate large amounts of logic circuitry on an integrated circuit. In turn, this has led to advances in digital systems architecture. One particular area of digital systems architecture that has benefited greatly from the capability to include vast arrays of logic circuitry on a single integrated circuit is processor design.
FIGS. 1-18 illustrate various components, their arrangements, and interconnections, and as is the well-understood practice in this field, the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.